As used herein, the term "water garden", "water gardening system", and "water garden system" refer to any one of a number of types of outdoor constructs having at least one open water container, e.g., a pond, a lake, a pool, etc. Many of these constructs further include a fountain, a waterfall, multiple interconnected ponds, subsidiary streams, etc. In all of these systems it is important to circulate and filtrate the water in order to reduce debris and to add needed oxygen. In some systems it is also necessary to move water from one elevation to another, higher elevation (such as to a waterfall outlet or stream head.)
Currently, pond circulation and filtration are accomplished using water gardening systems that typically have a submersible circulation pump. It is also known to use a non-submersible pump (such as an external, out-of-pond pump) with a suction line placed between the non-submersible pump and the pond. The pump draws water from the suction line positioned at one location within the pond and returns the water through an output line having an output opening located elsewhere in the pond. Some pumps include filtering components. A separate dedicated waterfall pump is sometimes provided for moving pond water from one elevation to another, higher elevation. It is known to place both the circulation and waterfall pumps either in the pond itself, outside the pond in open space, or outside the pond in a dry container buried in adjacent ground.
There are a number of problems associated with current water gardening systems. One significant problem is that in-pond pump filters and suction lines clog easily. Depending on the accessibility of these components, removal of the clogging debris is not always easily accomplished. For this reason, there is a tendency for owners to neglect clogged pumps, which can result in the pumps burning out due to having to work harder to draw water.
Another significant problem associated with current water gardening systems has to do with maintaining a desired water level within the open water container. Over time, the water level in a pond will drop due to evaporation. The owner will usually place additional water in the pond to compensate. If the pump is then turned off, the water in the stream and waterfall will return to the pond. Because the owner likely did not leave enough room in the pond for the volume water in motion, such as the water in a stream or flowing from a higher water body, the pond will overflow. Similarly, if a water gardening system includes long, wide, or high-volume streams leading away from the main pond and the main pond surface is comparatively small relative to the water in motion, the main pond water level will drop when the system is first turned on. The owner will usually add more water. When the system is turned off, the pond will overflow. For ponds with large water systems this can result in a significant flooding problem, as well as significant water waste.
Thus, a need exists for a water gardening circulation and filtration system that is capable of keeping the pond water level at a desired height even though a significant amount of evaporation may occur or a significant amount of in-motion water may be used. The ideal system would further be able to filter large or small volumes of water in a manner that does not clog system pumps and that is easy to clean, with minimal design and installation restraints. The present invention is directed to fulfilling these needs.